


Worth the Waiting

by StormBerryMC



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Afterlife, Epilogue, Found Family, Multi, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 07:52:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17158151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormBerryMC/pseuds/StormBerryMC
Summary: Magnus and Julia have had a lot of time to catch up. But now Kravitz is returning, and he's bringing someone with him...





	Worth the Waiting

My time with Julia has been pure bliss. We’ve spent every moment together, hand in hand. She had listened intently when I told her about the Day of Story and Song. She taught me how to paint, which calmed me in moments of stress (usually mornings after a restless night filled with nightmares). Oh yes, for a while, my nights were filled with nightmares. It’s to be expected, with the admittedly traumatic moments of my life. Thankfully, Julia was always there to comfort me, and eventually, the nightmares became less and less frequent. We continued to build the house together that Julia had started, making it more and more elaborate. Surprisingly, I never felt confined to this place, or bored. When we weren’t working on the house or painting together, just being with Julia was enough

But I was happy to see another join us. About four years after I was reunited with Julia, Kravitz returned. I was worried at first that he was there to take us to the afterlife, but then I saw Lucretia following him, and I breathed a sigh of relief. They gracefully landed on the ground, and we ran to meet them.

“Long time no see.” said Kravitz warmly.

I smiled, and my eyes shifted to Lucretia. She looked much younger than she did since the last time I saw her, and I realized that she looked more like she did on our journey on the Star Blaster. I smiled, but I noticed that she looked a little nervous.

Kravitz continued, “So… I neglected to tell you this, but this space was designed for the seven birds as a reward for all you’ve done. Lucretia has just died, and is ready to join you. I apologize for not telling you about this sooner, but I’ve been extremely busy.”

Before I could respond, Lucretia stepped forward and spoke. “Magnus. I know it might be… difficult to have me in your paradise after everything I’ve done, and I understand if you don’t want me-”

I put up my hand up to stop her, and then I took a step forward… and wrapped my arms around her. “I told you this when I was alive Lucretia, I’ve already forgiven you for all that, and I couldn’t be happier to see you again.” I let go of her, and gestured to Julia. “Besides, I never would’ve met my wife if you hadn’t done what you did, so…”

Lucretia wiped a few tears from her eyes and smiled. “Thank you Magnus. I… I’m so glad to see you again.” She breathed a sigh of relief, and I wondered if she ever let go of the guilt she felt in life.

After saying goodbye to Kravitz, the three of us walked to the house, which Lucretia marveled at when it came into view. I guess it was good that we continued to build. Lucretia settled in quickly. I think Julia secretly felt a sense of relief having another woman around, which I of course took no offense to. In fact, I felt so much joy watching my best friend become best friends with my other best friend!

It was another year and a half before another joined us. It was… a bittersweet event. Kravitz approached us, and then Mavis peered out from behind him. She was a young adult at this point, both when she died, and in her afterlife appearance.

“What happened?” I asked without thinking. Julia elbowed me, but I didn’t care. Mavis was much too young to die. Kravitz looked sideways at Mavis, who nodded, so he said,

“Mavis was born with a terminal illness, and actually lived much longer than anyone expected.”

My eyes widened, and before I could say anything, Mavis said, “We kind of only made it known to immediate family. Even Merle didn’t know until about a year after Story and Song, and everyone else found out when I started getting worse.”

I nodded sadly, and gave a small smile. “Well, it is good to see you again.”

Mavis smiled, and walked back to the house with Julia and Lucretia. I stayed behind for a bit to talk to Kravitz. “So… Last time I checked, Mavis wasn’t part of the seven birds.”

Kravitz shrugged. “Guess someone convinced the Raven Queen to include close friends. I mean… they would have to go through endless paperwork, hearings, and convincing to make it happen, but if someone who really cares were willing to commit to it, it could be done.”

I smiled and patted Kravitz on the back. “Well, guess we have someone pretty special looking after us in the afterlife. If you know who it was, tell them I am eternally grateful.”

Kravitz nodded with a small smile, and left.

Julia and Lucretia welcomed Mavis with open arms. We didn’t know her extremely well in life, but she soon became like family. Julia especially took a shine to her, and I wondered if she saw this as a chance to be a motherly figure that she never got to be.

I had my own fatherly experience with Mavis. I got up one night to get something to drink, and found Mavis sitting by the window, looking outside wistfully. I cleared my throat, and she turned around quickly, wiping a few tears from her eyes. After staring at her awkwardly for a moment, I took a step towards her and said, “You doing okay?”

She sighed and nodded. “Yeah, sorry. I just…”

I shook my head and sat down next to her. “You don’t need to be sorry for being upset. What’s wrong?”

Mavis looked embarrassed for a moment, and then said quietly, “I miss everybody.”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, I figured. It’s not easy leaving people behind.”

“I mean, I know I’ll see them again someday, and I still have you guys here, but… I just miss them so much! Dad, and Mookie, and… Angus.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Angus?”

She nodded. “We got pretty close. Maybe if things had been different… we would’ve…” she stopped, and sighed shakily. “I hate dwelling on things that logically don’t make sense, but I can’t help it.”

I put my arm around her. “I get it. Longing for something… or someone… that you never got to have? It’s totally understandable. Just know that you have people here who care about you, and even if you have to wait a long time to see them again… you’re not alone here.”

Mavis laid her head on my shoulder, fresh tears running down her face, and closed her eyes. “I know. Thank you Magnus.”

Needless to say, the three of us became pretty close, and we continued to build in preparation for future arrivals. We had to wait a pretty long time to get any though, but eventually, they did come.

When Kravitz finally showed up again, he had Carey and Killian in tow. I was confused about how it worked out that they came at the same time, but it was quickly explained.

Killian blushed. “When I died, I didn’t want to come here without Carey, so I requested to be put into a deep sleep until she got here.” Carey squeezed Killian’s hand, and they gazed lovingly at each other. By the way, hope you can stand that unabashed, sugarcoated passion, because they didn’t let up when they settled in. Even Julia and I didn’t kiss and hold hands that often. Not that I’m complaining.

The next to arrive was Merle. The reunion between him and Mavis was pretty sweet. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Merle that happy. I’ll admit that I was a little relieved to have another guy around. Now I could make dirty jokes without being shamed by four women. (Who, by the way, also seemed relieved)

If the reunion between Mavis and Merle was sweet, the reunion between her and Angus was pure bliss. When Mavis saw him, she ran out to meet him and Kravitz. Even though I could only see from a distance, I saw her stop in front of him, and then they embraced. I noticed that even though Angus had lived to be pretty old, his age appearance nearly matched Mavis’. Any doubt I had about their relationship ended when they asked to share a room.

Davenport came next. Lucretia was very happy to see him again. She was a little worried about his arrival, because of the guilt she still felt after what she did to him, but Julia helped calm her nerves, and when he got here, the reunion was filled with smiles and laughs from both sides.

Next came Mookie, and to the surprise of no one, the age form he took was a child. He got an eye roll from Mavis, but not before a big hug.

The last to arrive was Taako. He strutted in like his flamboyant self, but there were strong emotions that he just couldn’t hide. The facade cracked when he saw Angus. They embraced, and I thought I saw a few tears in Taako’s eyes. Once the reunion was over, Kravitz said he needed to talk to us.

“So you know that this plane is not a permanent placement. Eventually, you will have to go to the afterlife in some form. Now that all of you are here, the Raven Queen will give you a maximum of ten more years. At some point, you will have to make a decision about where to go.”

This news was not easy to hear, despite the fact that we all knew it was coming.

Merle was the first to decide, and the only one who left before the ten years were up. He went to Arcadia, in the section where Pan ruled. He was welcomed there with open arms.

Davenport and Lucretia went to Bytopia, twin paradises built for adventurers who want to spend their afterlife… well… adventuring. They each went to a different paradise within Bytopia, but apparently the two sub-planes do meet once a year for an adventurer’s fair.

Mookie went to the Beastlands, a pure paradise for rangers. Needless to say, it was perfect for him. And yes, he did keep his child form, and I do look forward to hearing about legendary hunters being bested by a small child dwarf.

Carey and Killian went to Arborea, the plane for those who want love, battle, passion, and victory. Yep, sounds about right.

Taako, Angus, and Mavis all went with Kravitz to be grim reapers, making their team pretty crowded, with Lup and Barry there too. Taako suggested they call themselves the Sinister Six. He was initially shut down, but the others relented when he suggested the alternative, Taako’s band of grim reaper brothers and sisters. So now they’re the Sinister Six (even if Taako’s the only one who calls them that).

And that just left me and Julia. It was such a hard decision. As a legendary hero, I had the chance to go to any of the warrior planes, where I would get endless adventures and heroism. Julia, however, would not be welcome (which is honestly bullshit. How is she not considered a hero?)

Julia was eligible to go to Elysium, otherwise known as the perfect place, reversed for the truly good and kind beings. Well, she did fit that, and I admittedly, did not. I didn’t want to be the one to keep her from such a wonderful afterlife. Few planes would welcome both of us, and the ones that did were… not very pleasant. We stayed up many nights talking about our options.

“After spending all of these years with you, I don’t just want to give that up.”

“I know Julia, but you deserve a place like Elysium. It’s literally called the perfect place!”

“It can’t be perfect if you’re not there!”

I sighed as she began to cry. I took her into my arms and hugged her tightly. This wasn’t going to be an easy decision. At the end of the ten years, we were actually still debating whether being in paradise apart would be more of a hell, then being in a literal hell together. Thankfully, Kravitz had an alternative.

He made yet another deal with the Raven Queen (daaamn he has game!) to allow us to reunite one day a year in this plane. With that, our decision was made. I would go to Ysgard, the realm of heroes, and Julia would go to Elysium, the perfect place.

“Don’t cry Julia. We’ll see each other again before you know it.” I said, kissing her forehead softly.

“I know, but this goodbye feels so… final.” She whispered.

“I’ll count the days we’re apart until I see you again. I love you so much.” I said, with a few tears myself.

“I’ll count the minutes.” She responded.

We kissed one last time, before being escorted to our respective planes. The next year was filled with endless adventures and heroism. The friendships I’ve made in this realm have been comparable to the ones I made in life. I could tell so many stories about the adventures we went on together. I still missed Julia though, and I longed for the day when I would see her again.

But now I stand in our plane once more, and Julia is running to greet me. We embrace, and the pure joy I feel in seeing her face again was worth the waiting.


End file.
